echo's decision
by sparkflight
Summary: there is a new prophecy in shadowclan will it be for the good of the clans, or for the bad?
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1: a short life

echo coughed meekly. greencough had spread across the forest, and the clans had refused them any catmint, leaving them to die. echo hated the clans, and she vowed to never trust them again. she and her mate had not even had kits yet! at least when they were dead, they wold finally get some peace. suddenly, her mate rasped,

are you okay? no, echo replied. I think its time.

and just as they both took there last breath, echo disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

chapter 2: _same father?_

echokit opened her eyes. she was in a bright, warm,place. surrounded by brambles. echokit? a voice mewed. she sat up and looked around. she was sitting next to two other kits, both ginger. the cat who had spoken was standing over her, her gaze bright green. your awake! she exclaimed. the cat called to the kits next to her. palekit, wrenkit, come meet you new sister! but, momma, she's not our real sister! they protested. shush! the she-cat scolded. you share the same father, so you are her kin.

 _the same father? what could that mean?_ echokit wondered. _where is my real mother?_ she was taken from her thoughts when a broad shouldered cat stroad into the nursery. doveheart? he mewed. what has happened- oh! you opened your eyes! he exclaimed, gazing at echokit. she trotted over to him, looking straight into his amber eyes. he turned his head down. well, hello there, the tom told her. I am your father, oakfur. and this is your brother and sister, palekit and wrenkit. welcome to shadowclan, young one.

echokit still had no idea what was going on. all she knew was that she was a kit in shadowclan, her father was called oakfur, and she had two half-siblings. still, she felt like there was something... off about her. like there was something before...

anyway, palekit meowed, lets play a game! uh, no thanks, echokit responded. I think I'm going to go help with sorting herbs. but you always help with sorting herbs! wrentit protested. and you never play with us! you do want to be a warrior, right? well... actually.. I want to be a medicine cat! she exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

chapter 3: thunderclan?

and then, doveheart continued, oakfur crashed through the trees, meeting the thunderclan enemies! thunderclan? echokit asked. what's that? it's the clan who lives across the thunderpath, wrentit explained. and those mangy furballs have been stealing our prey since the elders were kits, and before! palekit added. wow! the elders were kits?! echokit replied, awestruck. I could never see whishtail as a kit, so those thunderclan cats must be really horrible!

thunderclan? why are you talking about those mangy thieves? oakfur meowed, walking towards them. mommy is telling us a story of how you're the bravest warrior ever for beating up thunderclan! mewed echokit. her father's eyes gleamed. he nodded. thunderclan is a excuse for a clan. one day, we will destroy them, but not yet. suddenly, echokit felt a flash of defiance run through her. how dare he talk about them that way! but once she noticed what she was doing, she immediately thought, _what am I thinking! thunderclan is the enemy!_ but she still felt that she was not meant to be here... that she belonged somewhere else...

but she was ripped out of her thoughts when someone yowled from the highrock. it was dropletstar, the leader! and he was calling for the clan! doveheart suddenly shot to her paws. oh my goodness, I totally forgot! she exclaimed. your apprentice ceremony! and she immediately pounced on the kits, licking them fiercely. but it was too late. the kits were stealing ad dropletstar was staring at the nursery. finally, oakfur managed to drag the his children out of her grasp and into the clearing. just as the leader was saying, come forward, the kits literally almost jumped onto the highrock. he chuckled, then continued, palekit, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as palepaw. your mentor will be russetclaw. wrentit, he mewed, from this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as wrenpaw. your mentor will be cederflower. the young warrior touched noses with her new apprentice, before going to sit with the other apprentices. and last but certainly not least, dropletstar concluded, echokit, you have shown great interest and potential in becoming a medicine cat. your memory for herbs is extraordinary, and you seem to have a gift for healing cats. so, if it is your wish to become a healer, and bind wounds instead of cause them, them from now until you earn your medicine cat name you will be known as echopaw. dappleheart, will you mentor echopaw until she is ready to become a full medicine cat? dappleheart nodded. it would be my pleasure, dropletstar. well, then, echopaw, you are now a medicine cat apprentice! the leader announced.

 _palepaw! wrenpaw! echopaw!_ the clan called.


	4. Chapter 4

chapter 4: training

hurry up, palepaw! wrenpaw cried. jeez, its like you've never hunted before! wrenpaw, that's the thing! palepaw replied. we never have hunted before! It's just practicing! wrenpaw rolled her amber eyes. so what? we've seen OTHER cats hunt, so it can't be that hard! come on, lets go find some prey!

(five minutes later)

palepaw! wrenpaw! I can't believe you ran off! and on your _first day as apprentices!_ russetclaw meowed. now, go back to camp and pick off the elders ticks! okay, they mewed. _I wonder what echopaw is doing?_ wrenpaw thought.

(in the medicine den)

and this is borage. do you know what that is for dappleheart asked. oh! it's for nursing queens and fever! echopaw replied. dappleheart nodded, and then held up a bunch of leafy plants. well, do you know what these are her mentor queried. those are catmint and they cure greencough, she answered. they are also used for- but before she could finish, echopaw was swept into a memory! suddenly, images and smells racked her brain... begging the clans, swearing that they would get there revenge on them, a sweet oder racking her brain the whole time. finally, she was snapped out of her daze by dappleheart, saying, echopaw! how did you sort all hose herbs in that time? echopaw looked down, and saw that somehow, she had organized all of the herbs in about three minutes! all when she was thinking about... wait, what was she thinking about again? she remembered... the brown tabby cat looked down, smelling the catmint. that was It! catmint! but.. why?


	5. Chapter 5

chapter 5: kin

echopaw! c'mere! palepaw called to her. echopaw looked up from the mouse she was eating. her siblings barely talked to her lately- they were all to caught up in their training. _what could they want?_ she wondered. so she trotted over to them, because they would not talk to her unless it was important. yeah? what? echopaw asked. well... palepaw faltered, but wrenpaw finished for her. you have a brother in thunderclan, she blurted out. what?! echopaw exclaimed. no... that can't be! only I survived when my mother died giving berth and my siblings! but palepaw shook her head. that is not true, she replied. when your mother died, it was.. it was not from giving berth to you. WHAT?! echopaw cried. but... how?! she died from greencough, wrenpaw explained. but about 4 moons after you were born, she gave berth to your brother, stormwhisker. why did nobody tell me? the medicine cat apprentice exclaimed. they thought it was for the best, palepaw explained, since thunderclan and shadowclan have not been very friendly lately. and our father has especially been, uh, lets just say he has a sore to settle with thunderclan.


	6. Chapter 6

chapter 6: Illness

oakfur? echopaw peeked into the warriors den. can I talk to you? she spotted her father in the back, curled up. he lifted his head. yes, echopaw? he rasped. I- I found out about.. s-stormwhisker, she told him. He nodded. I know, he replied. I told palepaw and wrenpaw to tell you. oh! well then- but echopaw was interrupted by her father, who was coughing loudly. echopaw immediately nelt down two feel his temperature- It was burning hot! she zoomed out of the den to get her mentor- If her father had greencough... no, she could not think like that. she needed to get to the medicine den, find her mentor, and get some catmint!

a couple days later, her father lay in the medicine den. I don't get it! echopaw exclaimed. he's not responding to the catmint, but his fever is super high and he's coughing like crazy! how could he not have greencough? dappleheart shrugged. well, he _could_ have yellowcough- but suddenly, oak fur burst into a coughing fit. but this time.. something was different.. he was coughing up _blood!_ he has redcough! echopaw exclaimed, drooping down next to his muscular body. we have to get the bark for it from skyclan territory! dappleheart nodded, then shook her sleek, spotted head. its to far away, she replied. I'll get it, but until then, you'll have to care for him. care- care for him? by myself? the gray apprentice's body shook. treating the hiccups or a wound was one thing, but it was a complete different thing to care for a entire cat for at least half a moon! and besides, he was her father, so if anyone was going to get the bar, it should be her! but dappleheart shook her head, as if she could read her thoughts. its too dangerous, she insisted. and you know oak fur better than I do, so you know what he will need and what to do with him. do you understand? echopaw nodded her silver head reluctantly, but inside she was wondering if being a warrior was easier. good, dappleheart meowed. I leave at dawn.


	7. Chapter 7

chapter 7: the dream

echopaw! a voice called. the small gray she-cat could tell she was dreaming; but she ran toward the meow anyway. she bolted into a clearing, and in the middle sat a large, muscular cat with his back turned to her. hello? the medicine cat mewed, and the tom turned his head in greeting. ah, echopaw, he murmured. finally. why am I here? she snapped. I don't have time for a lecture! but the cat just shook his head and beckoned her forward. nice she had sat down next to him, she meowed, well, if your going to talk to me, I should at least know your name. my name is brambleheart, he explained. and I am not here to scold you, but to tell you a prophecy. brambleheart closed his eyes, but when he opened them they where glowing bright amber, and when he spoke, thunder roared. echopaw shrank back as the words left his mouth.

 _a time is coming, a time of great darkness,_ he spoke. _in the middle of war, the echo of a life before must face a decision that will determine the fate of both shadow and thunder_.

when brambleheart went back to normal, echopaw woke up, and found herself shivering, huddled next to her father in the medicine den. she immediately checked to see if he was breathing, and he was fine. that calmed her down a little bit, though she still felt a growing sense of dread. what could that mean? she thought. thunder and shadow? the echo of a life before? why did they send this to me, instead of a full medicine cat? this makes no sense!


	8. Chapter 8

chapter 8: the decision

echopaw opened her eyes. it had been three sunrises since the mysterious prophecy had been given to her, and she still could not shake of a growing feeling of dread. all was normal around her, her clanmates hurrying around to get the days work done. it was just another regular sunrise in shadowclan, but although she had been raised here, somehow, she did not feel welcome. _do I really want to stay here?_ she thought. _all that's here for me is a sick father and a mother who isn't even mine._ _if I stay here, I can cure my father and still be a_ _medicine cat._ _but if I go to thunderclan, I could stay with my brother and escape from my responsibilities here. I could meet even more of my true kin, but I would have to let my father die-_ suddenly, she felt a sharp prod in her shoulder, and echopaw whipped her head around to see who it was. she let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was splashpaw, a younger, snarky apprentice who dappleheart had recommended to help echopaw out when she was gone. but even though her mentor had approved her, echopaw still felt that the 6 moon old apprentice was snarky, impatient, rude, insistent, and lacked even the basic medicine cat skills. of course, splashpaw had never had anyone tell her what to do until recently, when the leader had told her to "mind her tongue" when the medicine cat had chosen her to help out. she braced herself as splashpaw opened her mouth, but what she said was actually interesting. have you heard? the tabby asked. my father is going to be DEPUTY of shadowclan! what?! echopaw exclaimed. but we already have a deputy! uh, not anymore! she replied. your father is sick, and since it's going to be a lounge time until he recovers, my father is going to be deputy in his place! and then leader! the young she-cat mewed excitedly. isn't that great!? echopaw felt her heart drop like a stone. with her father controlling the clan fifty percent of the time, the tabby would become even more annoying. and if he became leader? unbearable.

uh hello! earth to echopaw! splashpaw meowed. you know, it would not surprise me if you moved to the elders den early. you're always so boring! I mean, who would want to spend all their day stuck in a den, sorting plants? you guys are kind of useless, if you think about it. you don't even hunt! all you do all day is stuff your faces with OUR prey! now, at this, echopaw felt her blood begin to boil. she rose to her paws, lifted one up and _swiped_ splashpaw across her face! the young apprentice stumbled, and then regained her balance, and hissed, you're in big trouble! I thought medicine cats were supposed to heal cats, not hurt them! and with a swish of her tail, she stalked of her den over towards dropletstar. echopaw sat down in defeat and groaned. maybe the elders have the good idea, scolding young mouse brains like her, she mewed. she could do with a little scolding.

but did she even care? all echopaw wanted was to be a normal medicine cat, healing her classmates in a clan where nobody expected too much of her. was there even a clan like that? _thunderclan's pretty close,_ she thought. I could start over. _and besides, it doesn't feel like I belong here anymore._


	9. Chapter 9

chapter 9: change

echopaw knew she was in trouble, and she was the only cat to blame. echopaw herself could hardly believe she had hurt an apprentice, however much of a fox-heart she was. as she walked towards dropletstar, she could feel the gaze of the clan burning her pelt. when she reached the edge of the rock, dropletstar opened his mouth. echopaw, earlier today you slashed splashpaw in the face with claws unsheathed. care to explain your actions? but echopaw felt no need to justify herself to the shadowclan leader; it did not matter if she was on his good or bad side when she announced she was leaving. so she just lifted her chin and mewed, if you want to know why, ask splashpaw if there was a reason for her to say that medicine cats were useless and boring. even if you don't, what do I care? I am going to join thunderclan. tell dappleheart to come back and heal my father, but I won't be there.

and the cats of shadowclan were left with there mouths hanging open as they realized they had just been abandoned by there only medicine cat and it might be at least a moon before the other one returned.

but as echopaw left the clearing, she noticed three cats in particular who's faces were a mixture of disbelief and betrayal: wrenpaw and palepaw, her littermates, and the most heartbreaking one of all, her father watching her leave from the medicine den. she wished with all her heart that he could come with her, but she forced herself to look away, at the cats she could take. wrenpaw? palepaw? she pleaded. I can't do this alone! both of the cats faces were shocked, but they both stood beside her, as if they would never let her go. of course, they both purred.


	10. Chapter 10

chapter 10: the battle

 _shadowclan attack!_

the battle cry echoed through the walls of the medicine den. echoflight woke up immediately. it had been many moons since she had left shadowclan and joined thunderclan. they had welcomed her easily, but some cats had been, and still were, a little wary of them, even though she was there medicine cat and had her full name now: echoflight.

she raced to the clearing; her father must have recovered! and sure enough, there he was, standing at the edge of the camp, yowling in outrage, before bounding up to hawkstorm, her brother! no! she yelped. she tensed, ready for him to get ripped apart, but her brother stood strong. he lashed out and ducked under him, slashed across his underbelly, and before he knew it, she and two cat were racing up to her father: echoflight, and her littermates, wrenwhisker and paleflower.

get away from him! a voice screeched, and the cats turned around to see- there mother.

t first she snarled, but when she recognized them, she eased, backing away and joining in on a battle between the deputy of thunderclan and the deputy of shadowclan, splashpaw's father. echoflight inspected the wound on her fathers belly; to her relief, it looked temporary. wren whisker and pale flower resumed fighting, but echopaw stayed with her father, and whispered in his ear,

 _I love you._


End file.
